Electric broilers



March 8, 1960 Filed April 24, 1957 P. G. PRITZ ELECTRIC BROILERS 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVEIy'TOR, Peie i, G232; fz

March 8, 1960 P. G. PRITZ 2,927,479

ELECTRIC BROILERS Filed April 24, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 mmy TOR, Bezefi GLP/vfz March 8, 1960 P. G. PRITZ ELECTRIC BROILERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 24, 1957 INVENTOR, .Pe fer Gfrz f2, 7 BY ELECTRIC BROILERS Peter G. Pritz, Jenkintown, Pa. Application April 24, 1957, Serial No. 654,802

2 Claims. (Cl. 74-626) The object of the invention is to provide improvements in food broilers broadly speaking, but more especially in the rotary type in which units of the substances being broiled are continuously revolved about individual axes corresponding with a single unit or group of such units, in which will be referred to as a planetary orbit or path about axis that is common to a multiplicity of such units or groups of units, whereby the individual units in both cases are subjected upon all sides to the'heat eminating directly from one or more electric heat sources, as well as by convection and normal circulation from them, this application being a continuation-in-part of copending application, Serial No. 510,886, filed May 25, 1955, now Patent No. 2,855,842, issued October 14, 1958.

The improved device has been so designed as to include all of the advantages of the original development, but in addition thereto includes a combined operating and control mechanism that has proved to be more'efiicient than the first, and at the samev time more simple in construction and operation, while costing substantially less to manufacture, and at the same time minimizing any tendency to require repair and replacement after long and continued use.

Another object is to provide a device of this nature, which essentially comprises at least one revolvable disk, spider, or equivalent rotatable primary support, at least one auxiliary support carried by such primary support and itself being revolvable about an axis that is parallel with but spaced from that of said disk or the like, in combination with means to secure either one or a plurality of frankfurters to said auxiliary support, a fixed annular rack which cooperates with and is in engagement with said auxiliary support during a major portion of its normal orbital movement about said primary sup; port, and means to regularly disengage said auxiliary sup.- port from said rack through a limited portion of its orbit, during which time treated frankfurters may be removedfrom, and fresh frankfurters attached to, said last-mentioned support.

A further object of the invention is to directly drive one of the auxiliary supports while the normally revolv-i able disk and spider are disconnected from themotor.

With .the objects thus briefly and broadly stated, the invention comprises further details of construction and operation, which are hereinafter brought out in the following specification, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a broiler comprising one embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a right hand elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a left side elevation of the same; Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is an enlarged front elevation of the exterior of the clutch mechanism for controlling the operation of the motor driving system; Fig. 6 is a plan view of said driving system with the protective casing removed; Fig. 6a is a fragmentary view showing both sides of the pivotal connection between the members 33 and 34 and the motor support 35; Fig. 7 is a fragmentary portion of the same rates atent but with the control in a different position; Fig. 8' is a fragmentary view showing the normal intermeshing en gagement of the rack and pinion driving means, that normally connect the primary and auxiliary units; Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view showing the gravitydrop that arrests the backward rotation of an auxiliary unit with respect to said primary unit when they are out of mesh and ready to have sausage or the like placed on or removed from them; and Fig. 10 is a fragmentary-side elevation of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 6.-

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, one embodiment of the invention is shown as comprising a lower chamber:

having an open front 1 (Fig. 1), a closed rear wall 2a, a left hand transparent side panel 2 (Fig. 3), a sheet metal right end wall 3 (Fig. 2), and metallic corner angles 4 connecting and fixedly positioning said panel walls. The bottom of said chamber is closed by a wall 5, while the top is preferably covered by a top wall 6 above which is a suitable hollow closure 6a, in which rolls, bread slices, or the like, may be warmed by the heat that escapes and naturally rises from the broiler below, and while protected from the surrounding dustladen atmosphere, said closure preferably comprising an inverted hollow container that is hinged at 7 to the body of the broiler, and maintained by gravity in normally closed position.

Within said broiling chamber and revolvably supported by and between the opposite side walls 2 and 3 is a main shaft 8 to the left end of which (within said chamber) is secured a spider 9, having angularly related radial arms 10 and a corresponding disk 10a on the right end, while said shaft 8 projects freely through said right end wall. Said shaft may be manually rotatable from the left side by means of a knob 11 upon the outside of the transparent wall panel 2, while the opposite right hand end of the said shaft is normally rotated by a motor and intervening control mechanism hereinafter described. Extending between the arms of said spider and said disk are a plurality of auxiliary shafts 13, each of which'is provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced pairs of radially projecting sharpened pins 14, upon which frankfurters or so-called hot dogs 15 are impaled, as shown in Fig. 1, parallel with said auxiliary shafts. By this means of mounting them, the frankfurters revolve about the axes of said auxiliary shaft 13, while these supporting shafts normally revolve about the common axis of the main shaft 8, in what is generally known as a planetary motion or orbit.

In the upper portion of the broiling chamber and immediately below the top wall 6 is a zig-zag electrically energized heating unit 16, whose ends extend through the right hand side wall 3 and areprovided-with terminals 17 for connection to suitable controls and eventually to a twin-wire connection cord and plug connector or the like 18, the flow of current to said heating unit being controlled by a conveniently located switch 18a, and the desired temperature maintained by an adjustable knob 18b. Also within the upper portion of said broiling chamber are one or more incandescent lamps or the like 19, for aiding in the proper positioning and finally the extraction of the broiled food products. Electrical connections and the improved driving mechanism are err-- closed within and protected by a removable hollow casing 20, that is secured in position by means of a pair of finger-actuatable knurled nuts 21, :and is provided with an enlarged circular aperture 22 and an arcuate aperture 23 for purposes hereinafter described.

Secured to yet spaced from the outer surface of the right side wall 3 is a secondary wall plate 24, which shields the orbital rotating mechanism (Figs. 6, 7 and 8). This mechanism essentially comprises the disk 10a that is secured to and revolves with the shaft 8 within a circu- -24 i'in orderto :preventit from losing or altering its angular-positionand are provided withradially'enlarged flanges 29,-thatmaintain-said gears in the plane of -='said rack, and with-"hubsfor a' pimpose hereinafter referred to. The'apertures'lsi) in-said revolvabledisk 10a,;through which the endgportions of said' 'auxiliaryshafts revolvably extend, are radiallyelongat'ed, so as to 'permitesaid shafts-13 10 be lifted individually from engagement with said'rack '28, with 'whichthey areresp'ectiitely in normal engagement'under the yielding forc'e of a flattenedwire spring "3L'and' from which they are periodically released during a'-short'cportion of their major orbit by:any"suitablet means, such-a's an abbreviated fixed cam surface 32 with which'they are in -'engagement for'a short time, while therespective auxiliary shaft'isin a forward-position in which the cf'rankfu'rters upon such shaft may be removed and i-fresh frankfurters may be made" to "replace them.

:Upon theouter-side of and spaced from said secondary wallrzplate 2.4 is fixedly -.posit-io'ned'another plate 33 vof less-"extent, andt'o this last-mentionedplate is piv'ota'lly secured at 34' a frame 35, 'thatsuppbrts at one end an electric motor 36, which through a series of speed-reduclug gears 37,38, '3? and 46 and their intermediate smaller -pinio ns ;rotates a shaft '41, whose dinner '1 end carries "a 158M452. When 'sa'id'framewith its motor'and gea'rs is in :its-upper position (Fig; l0)-,"the slowest-speed gear '42 is in mesh witli and directly drives a' large t'gear dil,

carried by the niain shaft 8 'and'thereby rotates th'e composite broiling unitas a'whole But :when said fram'e is rotatcdang'ularly aboutthe pivot 34 in counterclockwise direction, when viewed irorn theright as in Fig. 10, 'the driving gear '42 'islifted freely out of mesh with the gear 43-and the-broiler unit ceases torevolve, while thernotor continues to revolve unintermptedly,' This oscillatory motionofsaid'frame is effectedby means of a forwardly extending lever '44, carrying "a manually engageable actw atin'g knob 145 upon its free end, and which lever is engageahlewith-spaeedsteps oi' notches 46, 47 and '48, with which a braeket'48a is provided. This bracket forms a freely'outwardiy projectingextensidn of thefplate 33, and'said lever being permitted m move outwardly from its normalposition' adjacent to said motor-gear unit against thetensionof a"light sprin'g49 that surrounds the screw 34a, while the oppositeor relatively'fixed end of said lever is loosely" secured to said motorsgear frame by means of a bolt or the like SO. tSaid-leve'r 'is provided withan upwardlyilp'rojecti'ng spur-"5'1, that 'when' in its uppermost? position ispressed inwardly by the spring '49 to -the rear of an "annular flange .or shoulder- 52 of a' knob 5'3,"secured' to the outer 'freeendof a'pin 54, that is normally maintained in its outermost inactive position by-mean'sof -a coil-spring 55,-so that its bifurcated opposite end 56-isnormally free from engagement with all-of the diametricallyextending lugs -56aof the several gearsa27 of the'resp'ective secondaryplanetaryshafts 13, butwhichipin, when in its innermost or left "hand pos itionagainst the'tension-"of said springfls engageablewith one of said gear lugs and thuspermits manual rotation of the-engaged :planetaryshaftby means of the *li-nob 53, to'p'ermit the removal fromandvattaehment of rankturters to such-shaft; while its particular gear 27' 'is' free from engagement with the rack-28 by means of the cam 32.

When it is desired to attach frankfurthers to or remove them from an auxiliary shaft, the knob 45 of the lever 44 is depressed until said lever engages the intermediate notch 47, which disconnects the motor and its gear chain from the largemain shaft gear 43, so that rotation of said main shaft 3 immediately ceases, manual reverse rotation off'the knobffi permits reverse rotation of said main shaft, until such rotation is stopped by the forwardniost andm'ost accessible gear collar 27a being engaged'bycamisurface 32 and by:a shoulder 58 of a pawl 59, that is ,pivotally mounted at 60 upon the side walls 3, in whicli'pbsition'the adjacent auxiliary or secondary shaft lug 56a of the shaft 13 is coaxial with the lug 56 of the pin 54, and said pin is thereupon capable of being shifted axially inwardly into engagement with said lug, and m'anuahangtilar adjustment of the aligned shaft 1% is-per-mitted, in ordertothereby makepossible the attachment or detachment of frankfurters relative thereto/as hereinbefore described. -When it is desired to drive 'anauxiliary'shaft' individually, the gear collar 27a is rotated-into themanually adjustable position being engagedhy cam-surface 32 and by shoulder'SS of pawl59; The -knob=4'5 of lever 44 is then depressed untilthelever' engages the lowermost notch 48 which causes:=gear"42 of d'rive'mcans 3641 to meslr'with the gear'gon pin-54. The pin 54 is engaged with an auxiliary 'shaft l3 causing-the latter to rotate-individually.

Havingthus described'my invention, what I claim-and desire to protectby LettersPatent of the United'State's is:

--l. A-broiler', comprising the combination of 'a horizontal s'liaftprovided "with a' coaxial gear, a series of auxiliaryf 'shaftsi parallel and equally spaced from said horizontal shaftfmcans :for connecting said auxiliary shafts-to said horizontal shaft,-rneans for revolving said auxiliary'shafts in parallel planetary orbits relative to said horizontal-shaft, "each of the 'shafts of said series having :an engageablesurface, aframe, means for oscillating said frame in a plane transverse'to and aboutan engagement with saidv-last-named shaft while said "coaxial gear is engaged by said series gear.

'-2. Abroiler-accordingto' claim 1, in combination with mean's tojlimit-reverse%rotation"of said unit when said -gear-scriesjs disengagedtrom said' coaxial: gear until one of said auxiliary-shafts end surface is in operative c0- axial 'aiignment'with said stud. 

